Delivery box



Feb. 11, 1936. A P OD 2,030,109-

DELIV'ERY BOX Filed Aug. 16, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l Pro r av 3 INVENTOR.

John 14. HQOWOOG/ ATTORNEY.

Feb. M, 19%.

J. A. HOPWQOD DELIVERY BOX Filed Aug. 16, 1935 zmem 2 Sheefs-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR.

J0/7/7 4 HQOWOOOZ ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 11, 1936 g 2,030,109

STYS ATENT GFFICE DELIVERY BOX John A. Heywood, Great Neck, N. Y. Application August 16, 1935, Serial No. 36,480

9 Claims. (01. 21'7-22) This invention is a delivery box adapted for the is designed to receive with safety, the strains retail distribution of bottled milk, the invention thereby imposed are apt to break the weakened relating, more particularly, to boxes of the genend portions. eral character set forth in United States Patent One object of the present invention is to provide No. 1,681,080, issued August 14, 1928 to Samuel J. a much stronger construction and one wherein 5 Bailey. These boxes are characterized by a box the strength of the runners is not impaired body comprising four walls and the interior of through their entire length. which is divided into a plurality of compartments A further object of the invention is to make the adapted to receive milk bottles, individually. The runners in a novel manner to permit stacking o compartments are formed by wooden compartirons to properly cooperate therewith and with 10 ment bars extending either longitudinally or bottom plates and corner irons to which the sevtransversely across the interior of the box and eral walls of the box are secured and through the comprising upper and lower courses of supportmedium of which said walls are held in assembled ing bars. The upper bars are provided in their relation.

lateral edges with arcuate concavities to fit the I am able to produce these results by eliminat- 5 bottles at the base of the neck, while the lower ing the overlapping relation to which I have rebars are provided with similar concavities which ferred, by eliminating the reduced end portions are formed at their bottoms with seats on which of the runners and by forming in the under sides the weight of the bottles is carried. of the runners shallow recesses or cavities sub- The object of the present invention is to prostantially co-extensive with the space occupied by 30 vide such a box as will have a strong corner conthe stacking irons and these recesses or cavities struction and which will permit or" the use of are so formed as to provide a space into which stacking irons in connection therewith, so as to may be received the flanges of metal bottom plates allow a number of these boxes to be stacked one adapted to overlie portions of the lower edge of 2:5 upon another in a tier. It will be apparent, of the box in a manner to properly protect the same course, that in the Bailey box, the use of the usual against undue wear and at the same time properly stacking irons is not possible, because. the outerreinforce the corners. With this arrangement, most supporting bars at the bottom of the crate the slats of the side and end walls of the box need are of greater thickness than the Walls above them not be attached to one another at the box corners and consequently it stacking irons are placed at but are, in contradistinction, respectively secured 30 the top corners of the thinner walls, the inwardly to the corner irons and bottom plates by means projecting portions of the lowermost supporting of tie rods which extend vertically through the members, which are sometimes called runners, several walls and through said metal parts to hold will project into the path of the stacking irons and the entire construction in assembled relation, as

preclude proper stacking. It has been heretofore hereinafter more fully explained. 35 suggested that stacking irons may be associated Features of the invention, other than those with a box of this kind by making the opposite adverted to, will be apparent from the hereinafter end portions of the runners of less thickness than detailed description and claims, when read in conthe thickness of the remaining portions of the junction with the accompanying drawings.

0 run r SO a D v relatively, long a The accompanying drawings illustrate one pracated pr j about the Same thickness as the tical embodiment of the invention, but the conthickness of the walls of the box. These attenu- Struction therein shown is to be understood as ated Qrolectmns extenslons have been made illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of to pro ect across the space normally occupied by the invention the stacking iron and also extend across the ends Figure 1 is a fragmental perspective Showing of the end walls, so as to overlap said ends in order ne u er comer of a box embed in the res that the thus extending reduced or attenuated g sg y g p portions of the runners might be nailed to the ends of the end walls. This arrangement materially Flgure 2 1S S1m11ar,v1ew Showmg the lower weakens the end portions of the runners, for while comer of the box of Flgure 1 and at the Same 50 corner.

said runners are strong and rugged for the greater portion oi their length, they are thinned down at Flgure 3 IS a VIEW slmllar Flame 2, but wtheir ends to a degree wherein they are no s all hardware v stronger than the superimposed thin walls. If F gu e 4 is a Sectional w Showing w OX S they receive sharp knocks, which their thickness in stacked relation, said section being taken sub- 55 stantially in the plane of the line 4-6 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a fragmental perspective view showing one end of the corner irons preferably used in this construction.

The box shown in the accompanying drawings is of a slat type wherein both the .end walls I and the side walls 2 are formed of superimposed courses of slats with the slats of each course forming a rectangular frame. For the purpose of illustration, the box is shown as five slats high, although obviously not limited thereto. Upper partition bars 3 extend longitudinally across the interior of the box and are secured at their pposite ends to the end slats midway of the height of the box in the usual way. The corresponding bottom partition bars 3 are positioned below the bars 3 and are recessed in the usual manner to receive and support the bottles, the recesses being indicated at 5. These bars are secured in place in the conventional way. Bottle supporting wires 7, frequently used in boxes of this type, are shown in Figure 2, but may be omitted if desired. The lowermost slats at the opposite sides of the box, and which indicated by the reference character 3, are thicker than the top side slats 6 and they constitute the so-called runners of the box. Their inner faces are recessed as shown at 9 to receive and support bottles in the same manner as shown in the Bailey patent referred to.

The several slats of the four walls of the box are secured to one another and to the slats of the other walls by means of corner irons it. One of these corner irons is positioned at each of the four corners of the box and is composed of a right angular strip of metal, the top and bottom ends of which are split to form tongues H which are bent over one another and perforated at E2, as shown in detail in Figure 5, and said corner iron is provided adjacent each end with a shoulder orseat E3, the purpose of which will be presently explained.

The four slats which constitute any particular course of the box consists in two side slats and two end slats which, when assembled with the corner irons it, do not require joinery between the ends of the slats, as the side slats may very readily simply come into end abutting relation with the inner faces of the corresponding end slats and this is true of the runners 8 which form the bottom side slats, as well as the other side slats of the box. I slightly notch out the opposite ends of the end slats, as indicated at M in Figure 3, so that narrow corner irons can be used and the ends of all of the side slats, including the runners 3, abut the inner faces of the corresponding end slats Without cutting the side slats, which remain for their full thickness throughout their entire length. In other words, the side slats, including the runners, are cut with square or sheer ends and are not cut away for joinery in anywise whatsoever, but are of full thickness throughout their entire length and extreme ends of all of said side slats have end abutting relation to the inner faces of the corresponding end slats, which may or may not be notched out as desired. This gives a very strong construction and does not weaken the side slat runners, as hereinbefore referred to.

The parts are assembled by superimposing the slats of the various walls within four corner irons as, positioned respectively at the four corners of the box, and with the tongues H overlapping the upper and lower edges of the top and bottom slats. These edges I preferably recess sufficiently to receive these tongues, as well as corner caps ii at the top edge of the box and bottom plates I6 at the bottom edges of the box.

Each of the corner caps 45 is of right-angular shape and is provided at its inner and outer edges with depending flanges H, which, according to preference, may overlap the inner and outer faces of the top slats or be received in recesses therein so as to give flush inner and outer surfaces with the outer flanges seated on the shoulders l3 of the corner irons. If the upper edges of the top slats are recessed sufficiently deep, the upper faces of the corner caps Hi may be made flush with the upper edges of the top slats, although I do not consider this essential.

A stacking iron having an upstanding stacking projection i9, is superimposed on each corner cap, or otherwise formed at the top of the box at each corner thereof and, as shown, these stacking irons are in the form of plates riveted to the corner caps and provided with countersunk perforations 2d adapted to cooperate with correspondingly shaped and located perforations 2| formed in the corner caps 55 and so placed as to register with the erforations i2 of the corner iron tongues. The superimposed slats are bored with registering holes and tie rods 22 are passed downwardly through the perforations in the stacking irons, corner caps, and tongues I! and through the several slats in succession and thence through the bottom plates [6 and are headed over to secure all of the slats of each side and end wall to one another and to the corner irons, corner caps, stacking irons and bottom plates which act to maintain the several walls in assembled relation without requiring that any wall be secured directly to the other by nails or other direct securing devices, which I have found undesirable.

Each bottom plate is preferably in the form of a channeled metal strip arranged to straddle the lower edge of a bottom and slat for the full length of the latter and at the opposite ends of said end bars, the plate has right angular extensions 23 provided with inner and outer flanges 24 corresponding to the flanges 25 of the remainder of the bottom plate. The outermost flanges of the bottom plate and its extension overlie the outer faces of the bottom, side and end slats. inner flange 25 of the bottom plate overlies the inner face of the corresponding bottom end slat, while the inner flanges 24 of the extensions 23 are received within recesses or cavities 2% cut in the bottom inner lower edges of the adjacent ends of the runners. This arrangement permits me to make the extensions 23 of the same facial width as the body of the bottom plate which underlies the lower edge of the end slats and I thus get a better looking construction and a lighter one and at the same time keep the bottom plate sufficiently narrow to hold its shape when made of relatively light material. The lower edges of the end slats, as well as the lower edges of the runners, are preferably recessed for about the thickness of the material of the bottom plate, so as to give a flush bottom.

It is important to note that the recesses 26, which provide for the narrow extensions 23, may be made slightly deeper than required for the flanges 24 and, when so formed, they provide adequate space for the projecting portions 19 of the stacking irons when a plurality of these boxes are stacked as shown in Figure 4. This result, moreover, is accomplished without weakening the The the ends of the runners are of full thickness at their extreme ends which come into end abutting relation with the inner faces of the end slats.

In other words, I am able, by this construction,

"to-use a stacking iron with a box of the Bailey "type and obtain a stronger construction in the manner described.

I eliminate the necessity of using runners with thin end parts overlapping and fixed to the edges of the end slats of the box by nails or the like,

" through the employment of corner irons which permit me to fasten all of the end slats to corner irons by tie rods and all of the side slats to the same corner irons by other tie rods and maintain the parts in assembled relation by corner hardware of adequate strength and without weakening of the inherent box parts.

Furthermore in the box of the present invention, the ends of the runners are cut off square or sheer and abut for their full thickness firmly -against the inner faces of the end slats, to produce a strong abutting relation wherein there is no weakening of the construction by leaving "spaces between the bottom end slats and the thick runners and which spaces are bridged by attenuated portions of the runners, as has sometimes been the practice in boxes of this kind where space is required for stacking irons.

The result of the present invention, therefore, is that I get an unusually strong corner, preserve the full thickness of the runners throughout their entire length, leave the bottom plates with protecting flanges at both inner and outer edges and house the inner protecting flanges at the corners of the box in recesses provided for their reception and which flanges armor the corners or the recesses which engage with the stacking irons. The box of this invention will stack perfectly because the metal stacking irons cooperate directly with the flanges of the metal bottom plates, so that wear is taken up and long life assured in this connection. The bottom of the box is flush or substantially so and there are no projections to catch on conveyors or pick up splinters from floor.

The foregoing description sets forth the preferred practical embodiment of the invention, but the invention is to be understood as fully commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A delivery box comprising side and end walls, each composed of superimposed slats and the bottom side slats of which comprise the runners of the box and are thicker than the corresponding top side slats, said runners being of full thickness throughout their length and having their opposite ends cut sheer with said ends abutting the inner faces of the bottom end slats, corner irons at the four corners of the box, means for securing the contiguous ends of the side and end slats to said corner irons to maintain the slats in assembled relation, and a stacking iron at each of the upper corners of the box, each runner being provided therein at its inner lower edge with recesses located at the corners of the box to receive the stacking irons of another box of the same kind when a plurality of such boxes are stacked with respect to one another.

2. A delivery box comprising side and end walls, each composed of superimposed slats and the bottom side slats of which comprise the runners of the box and are thicker than the corresponding top side slats, said runners being of full thickness throughout their length and having their opposite ends cut sheer with said ends abutting the inner faces of the bottom end slats, corner irons at the four corners of the box, means for securing the contiguous ends of the side and end slats to said corner irons to maintain the slats in assembled relation, a stacking iron 'at each of the upper corners of the box, each runner being provided therein at its inner lower edge with recesses located at the corners of the box to receive the stacking irons of another box of the same kind when a plurality of such boxes are stacked with respect to one another, and bottom plates overlying the lower edges of the end slats and having at their opposite ends extensions overlying portions of the lengths of the lower edges of the runners.

3. A delivery box comprising side and end walls, each composed of superimposed slats and the bottom side slats of which comprise the runners of the box and are thicker than the corresponding top side slats, said runners being of full thickness throughout their length and having their opposite ends cut sheer with said ends abutting the inner faces of the bottom end slats, corner irons at the four corners of the box, means for securing the contiguous ends of the side and end slats to said corner irons to maintain the.

slats in assembled relation, a stacking iron at each of the upper corners of the box, each runner being provided at its inner lower edge with a recess to receive the stacking iron of another box of the same kind when a plurality of such boxes are stacked with respect to one another, and bottom plates overlying the lower edges of the end slats and having at their opposite ends extensions overlying portions of the lengths of the lower edges of the runners, said bottom plates and their extensions being provided with flanges overlying the outer surfaces of the bottom end slats and runners and also overlying the inner faces of the bottom end slats and extending into said recesses.

4. A delivery box comprising four walls, each composed of superimposed slats, and the bottom side slats of which are of greater thickness than the corresponding top slats, a stacking iron at each of the four upper corners of the box, the thicker bottom side slats of the box being recessed for a portion of their heights at the cor ners of the box to receive the projecting portions of the stacking irons of another box, when a plurality of such boxes-are in stacked relation.

5. A delivery box comprising four walls, each composed of superimposed slats, and the bottom side slats of which are of greater thickness than the corresponding top slats, a stacking iron at each of the four upper corners of the box, the thicker bottom side slats of the box being recessed for a portion of their heights at the corners of the box to receive the projecting portions of the stacking irons of another box, when a plurality of such boxes are in stacked relation, and metallic plates covering the lower edges at each of the four corners of the box and having flanges extending into the recesses in the bottom side bars to form, in each of said recesses, a right angular metallic corner for cooperation with a stacking iron.

6. A delivery box comprising four walls, the side walls of which are thicker at the bottom of the box than at the top of the box, stacking irons positioned at the upper four corners of the box, and the thicker lower edges of the side walls being provided with closed top recesses positioned at the corners of the box to receive the stacking irons of another box when a plurality of such boxes are superimposed in stacked relation.

7. A delivery box comprising four walls, each composed of superimposed slats, the bottom side slats being of greater thickness than the top side slats, and said bottom side slats being cut o-if square at their ends and abutting the inner faces of the end slats for the full thickness of each side slat, means for securing the slats together to maintain the walls of the box in assembled relation, and a stacking iron at each of the upper four corners of the box, the under sides of the thicker bottom side slats being recessed for a portion of their heights at the corners of the box to receive the stacking irons of another box when a plurality of such boxes are superimposed in stacked relation.

8. A delivery box comprising four walls, each of which is composed of superimposed slats and the bottom side slats of which are thicker than the corresponding top slats and are of full thickat each of the four upper corners of the box and the under sides of the thicker bottom side slats being recessed for a portion of their heights at the corners of the box to receive the projecting portions of the stacking irons of another box when a plurality of such boxes are superimposed in stacked relation.

9. A delivery box comprising four walls each composed of superimposed slats with the bottom side slats thicker than the corresponding top slats and having square cut ends across the full thickness of said slats abutting the inner faces of the end slats, bottom plates at the four lc0 rners of the box and underlying the ends of the bottom, side and end slats, corner irons embracing the four vertical corners of the box and extended over the upper and lower edges thereof, stacking irons at the four upper corners of the box, and tie rods extending through the bottom plates and slats and through the extensions of the corner irons to secure the slats and bottom plates to the corner irons and maintain the box in assembled relation, and the bottom edges of the thicker bottom side slats being recessed at the corners of the box for a portion of their height to receive the projecting portions of the stacking irons of another box when a plurality of such boxes are superimposed in stacked relation.

JOHN A. HOPWOOD. 

